DeLoitte Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Deloitte Foundation aims to “prepare students for tomorrow’s business challenges.” The foundation runs a range of signature programs and awards fellowships and awards, most in the fields of business and accounting education.
IP TAKE: Deloitte does not run traditional grantmaking programs, but there are opportunities to collaborate with the organization through its signature and awards programs. This funder maintains a strong interest in business and accounting education. For non-fellowships, network with a Deloitte employee to campion your organization’s work and, hopefully, get funding down the line. A rather bureaucratic funder that largely gives one-time awards.
PROFILE: The Deloitte Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the U.K.-based global accounting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd. Based in Stamford, Connecticut, the foundation was established more than 90 years ago, and is a separate entity from Deloitte’s other foundations, which are located in Australia, Canada and Romania. The U.S. foundation aims to support “education through initiatives benefiting middle/high school students, undergraduates, graduate students and educators that help develop future talent and promote excellence in teaching, research, and curriculum innovation.” The foundation does not run traditional grantmaking programs; it runs signature programs, endows named fellowships and awards programs and maintains resources for teachers and students on its website. It also supports higher education through its employee matching donations program. This funder does not maintain a webpage dedicated to its grantmaking programs; information is interspersed throughout its corporate website.
Grants for Higher Education
The Deloitte Foundation supports higher education through a range of signature programs featured on its educator resources web page. Programs include:
American Accounting Association “Cook Prize”: a $25,000 prize for “a superior teacher in the discipline of accounting.”
American Accounting Association Wildman Award: a $5,000 prize for “research judged likely to advance the theory and practice of public accounting.”
American Taxation Association Teaching Innovation Award: $5,000 for “tax professors who develop innovative teaching techniques that encourage critical thinking.”
Accounting Doctoral Scholars: financial support to “encourage professionals with public accounting experience in auditing and tax and an interest in teaching, to transition into academic roles at the university level.”
Doctoral Fellowship Program: $25,000 to “help cover expenses during their final year of coursework and the first year of their dissertation.”
Student Case Study Competitions: including National Audit Innovation Campus Challenge, Cyber Threat Competition, FanTAXtic National Case Study Competition, MBA National Case Competition.
Youth Programs: including Life, Inc: The Ultimate Career Guide for Young People and RightStep, “to help low-income students prepare for and persist through high school and college, then transition to a career.”
The Deloitte Foundation also runs an employee matching gifts program which matches its employees’ contributions to “degree granting colleges and universities” across the U.S. and beyond its borders. Through this program, the foundation gives more than $5 million annually to public and private colleges and universities. Recipients have included the University of Notre Dame, Michigan State University, Carnegie Mellon, Duke University, Penn State and the University of Southern California.
Grants for K-12 Education
Although its mission statement names middle and high-school students as a priority, support for K-12 education represents only a small fraction of Deloitte’s philanthropy and consists mainly of employee volunteer efforts through signature programs. Through its educator resources initiative, Deloitte runs Right Step, a virtual mentoring program for high school students that focuses on the college application process. The program has become “the largest year-round volunteer engagement opportunity at Deloitte.” Another signature program, the Courageous Principals Training Program, aims to help K-12 district leaders, superintendents, principals and assistant principals become more effective leaders. Deloitte volunteers have also worked with City Year, a national organization that supports high risk students in urban areas with mentoring. Recent donations have gone to Center for Innovative Education, a national organization that works to improve reading and mathematics curricula, and Yeshiva Torah Vodaath, a private religious school in New York City.
Important Grant Details:
The Deloitte Foundation makes about $5 million a year in gifts to colleges and universities each year. The average gift amount is about $25,000. For additional information about Deloitte’s past giving, see the foundation’s tax filings.
Some of Deloitte’s awards and fellowship programs accept application programs, with guidelines available at individual program pages. Direct general inquiries to the Kathy Shoztic via email or telephone at 203-761-3248.
PEOPLE:
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